Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
On December 10, 1805, members of the Corps of Discovery began constructing a fort on the Netul River, now called the Lewis and Clark River, near present-day Astoria, Oregon. Fort Clatsop, named after the local Clatsop Indian tribe, was completed in a couple of weeks, and the party spent three and a half months there before commencing their return journey back east.
Upon leaving the fort on March 23, 1806, Lewis gave the structure and its furnishings to Clatsop Chief Coboway. Over time, the fort deteriorated and the land was claimed and sold by various Euro-American settlers who came to the area. Knowledge of the exact site of the fort was lost, but interest in the fort remained strong. At the turn of the 20th century, the Oregon Historical Society bought some land thought to contain the original fort site. Public interest continued to grow, and in 1955, Astoria, Oregon, residents built a fort replica based on a floor plan described in Clark’s journal. They also built a replica of the salt works.
In November 2004, Congress passed the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park Designation Act to preserve the cultural and natural resources associated with the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery on the Lower Columbia River. The act redesignated Fort Clatsop National Memorial as Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, and provided for the inclusion of three additional sites in Washington State. The boundary study also recommended the establishment of the Lewis and Clark State Historical Parks, and legislation was passed by Washington and Oregon in 2004.
The combined Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks preserve and protect sites on the Lower Columbia River that are nationally significant to the Lewis and Clark story. They provide an opportunity for the parks to coordinate site interpretation and activities, expand the story of the Lower Columbia River for visitors, and allow for coordinated research and resource management activities. Lewis and Clark National Historical Park sites in Washington State are Dismal Nitch, Station Camp, and Cape Disappointment. Oregon sites include Fort Clatsop, the Fort to Sea Trail, Netul Landing, the Salt Works, and Sunset Beach Recreation Area.
On October 3, 2005, a fire completely destroyed the 1955 Fort Clatsop replica. The local community rallied and assisted the Park Service in building a new Fort Clatsop exhibit using the same techniques employed in the original fort and the first 1955 replica. On December 10, 2005—200 years after Lewis and Clark began to build the original fort—work on the new fort exhibit began. Logs were cut and assembled by hand with the help of volunteers. The new Fort Clatsop exhibit will be completed this fall and dedicated on October 3, 2006, one year after the fire.
The Center for State of the Parks assessed the conditions of cultural and natural resources at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. Areas owned and managed by the Washington and Oregon state park systems were not included in this assessment. Using all available information, Center for State of the Parks researchers determined that cultural and natural resources are in fair condition, overall, scoring 74 out of 100 and 63 out of 100, respectively.
